Sheraton Flex is more flexible in II

[okwiater]

Don't get me wrong, Sheraton Flex has few advantages and plenty of disadvantages -- and this is speaking as an owner of 2 Flex contracts. (Personally, I think that additional resorts will be incorporated into the Flex plan which will make it more valuable in the future, but that notion hasn't been officially endorsed. In the meantime, Flex offers priority access to 5 resorts which typically don't require priority access at all, even for holiday weeks.)

That said, I discovered that there is a significant advantage to Flex in II, from the standpoint that you are no longer limited to using the specific trading power and lockoff designation of your home resort. For both instant and request first exchanges, you can specify the exact number of "points" and bedrooms which you'd like to "deposit" in exchange for the week obtained. This means that you can use your Flex contract to trade for 1BR, 2BR, or 3BRs without being penalized for "over-depositing" higher-demand deeded weeks in exchange for something less desirable.

As an example, say you have a 67,100 HomeOption Flex contract. You could deposit this as a 3BR deposit, multiple 2BR low-season deposits, or make a single high-season 1BR instant exchange, depending on what you'd like to exchange for and what trading power is required to obtain it.

Take a look at the attached image to get an idea of the additional flexibility this program allows. This screenshot from the II website prompts you to select the number of points and bedrooms you'd like to use for your search or deposit. You'll note that the point values correspond to a slew of typical StarOptions values from the SVN chart.

 

[VacationForever]

How does one decide what to deposit? With my week in II, I can search to my heart's content whatever my week can pull, from studio to 3BR.

 

[lizap]

Hyatt works on a point system in II as well.

Don't get me wrong, Sheraton Flex has few

advantages and plenty of disadvantages -- and this is speaking as an owner of 2 Flex contracts. (Personally, I think that additional resorts will be incorporated into the Flex plan which will make it more valuable in the future, but that notion hasn't been officially endorsed. In the meantime, Flex offers priority access to 5 resorts which typically don't require priority access at all, even for holiday weeks.)

That said, I discovered that there is a significant advantage to Flex in II, from the standpoint that you are no longer limited to using the specific trading power and lockoff designation of your home resort. For both instant and request first exchanges, you can specify the exact number of "points" and bedrooms which you'd like to "deposit" in exchange for the week obtained. This means that you can use your Flex contract to trade for 1BR, 2BR, or 3BRs without being penalized for "over-depositing" higher-demand deeded weeks in exchange for something less desirable.

As an example, say you have a 67,100 HomeOption Flex contract. You could deposit this as a 3BR deposit, multiple 2BR low-season deposits, or make a single high-season 1BR instant exchange, depending on what you'd like to exchange for and what trading power is required to obtain it.

Take a look at the attached image to get an idea of the additional flexibility this program allows. This screenshot from the II website prompts you to select the number of points and bedrooms you'd like to use for your search or deposit. You'll note that the point values correspond to a slew of typical StarOptions values from the SVN chart.

 

[tschwa2]

Most point systems these days don't base the points on what you are searching with. You are searching with points. The points used are ultimately determined by what you exchange into. That isn't good unless you routinely trade into smaller and/or off season units. For example I used the small side of a 1 bedroom SBP gold plus to trade into a 3 br unit at Hilton Head at Easter.
If it were a part of SVN it would be valued at 44,000 star options. Using the trading grid, I believe the exchange would cost 175,000 flex options for the same exchange since it is 3 br and has a tdi of 140.

Most points searches are request first determining the points when you match. Worldmark does allow a deposit first and you can uptrade. Most do not. Most would not let you exchange unless you add additional points. Have you tried going as far as putting the CC in to see how many points it will take. You may not be able to test the deposit first method without actually depositing.

 

[PamMo]

Flex points in Interval are great if you trade into lower seasons, smaller units, lower quality resorts, but it sounds like "uptrading" will cost more points - just like with StarOptions. If I enroll my SDO unit in the Vistana Flex program, do I lose my ability to do a straight trade with my 1BR SDO for a 2BR WKORV if I can see it online?

 

[okwiater]

If I enroll my SDO unit in the Vistana Flex program, do I lose my ability to do a straight trade with my 1BR SDO for a 2BR WKORV if I can see it online?

You can't enroll your SDO unit in the Flex program -- you have to trade it for a Flex contract. If you do so, then yes, you will lose your ability to trade the SDO unit.

 

[tschwa2]

I don't know. That's what we need Okwiater to determine. In other points systems using II, if you trade into a bigger unit you use more points.

 

[YYJMSP]

Slightly off topic -- can you see the TDI needed to make a reservation at various resorts?

That might correlate to the relative strength of various properties (i.e. the "discussion" about WKV vs SVR from the other thread going on) when used for trading, on the assumption that the points needed to trade in to a property is in scale with the points you get from trading out of that same property...

 

[okwiater]

So now I am confused. I would have assumed that, based on the chart, I could trade into a 1-bedroom with a TDI of 75 for 30,500 points. But the particular 1-bedroom unit I'm looking for only shows up in the search results if I click on the top tier 110,000 point 2-bedroom link. Now my desired result shows up, with a "30,500 Vacation Points" designation.

Is this just II's flaky search functionality at work? Or am I actually trading 110,000 Home Options for some other II-specific "Vacation Points" currency?

 

[bizaro86]

I think its quite likely they will only charge you the points for the 1 bedroom exchange, but I'm not positive.

Worldmark works like that. Most worldmark owners "search" with the 3 bedroom unit, so they have enough "quality/trading power" to see as much as possible, but then you are only charged the points for what you actually reserve.

 

[alexadeparis]

Slightly off topic -- can you see the TDI needed to make a reservation at various resorts?

That might correlate to the relative strength of various properties (i.e. the "discussion" about WKV vs SVR from the other thread going on) when used for trading, on the assumption that the points needed to trade in to a property is in scale with the points you get from trading out of that same property...

Here is the trade index for Phoenix

 

[alexadeparis]

Slightly off topic -- can you see the TDI needed to make a reservation at various resorts?

That might correlate to the relative strength of various properties (i.e. the "discussion" about WKV vs SVR from the other thread going on) when used for trading, on the assumption that the points needed to trade in to a property is in scale with the points you get from trading out of that same property...

And here is Orlando - it looks like, generally, that Orlando seems to have a higher TDI index. It stays on the 100+ side for most of the year, whereas, there is a clearer high and low season for Phoenix/Scottsdale. I really think people here tend to discount Orlando as been there, done that but for people with small children or grandchildren, it will always be a popular option.

 

[DeniseM]

You cannot compare the TDI between different regions - they are only relevant for demand in the same region.

 

[alexadeparis]

For purposes of using the flex system (or any system that trades in II with points, like Shell or Hyatt), if you want to get into a 2 bedroom unit bearing TDI of 150 in Phoenix or 150 in Orlando, it will cost the exact same number of Flex points. The fact that these cost the same amount of points tells me that there is a direct correlation as far as II in concerned. They are the one calculating these numbers.

I don't claim to know the secret II TDI formula, nor do I care, except to the extent of determining how many points the unit I want will cost, no matter where it is located, so I can plan for the number of points I need. If I want high season 2 bedroom the points remain the same whether I want a ski week in winter or a beach week in summer.

 

[okwiater]

I think its quite likely they will only charge you the points for the 1 bedroom exchange, but I'm not positive.

Worldmark works like that. Most worldmark owners "search" with the 3 bedroom unit, so they have enough "quality/trading power" to see as much as possible, but then you are only charged the points for what you actually reserve.

That makes sense to me. I think the search capability on II is just flaky.

Which brings me to the next question, in the case of a request first, how does II determine the maximum number of points you're willing to trade? In other words let's say II matches me to something that costs 81,000 points but I only want to match 67,100 or 44,000 points? Will they call Starwood and ask how many points I've "deposited"?

 

[Ken555]

Just what we need...another currency to learn and understand. I look forward to seeing your results with this.


Sent from my iPad

 

[alexadeparis]

That makes sense to me. I think the search capability on II is just flaky.

Which brings me to the next question, in the case of a request first, how does II determine the maximum number of points you're willing to trade? In other words let's say II matches me to something that costs 81,000 points but I only want to match 67,100 or 44,000 points? Will they call Starwood and ask how many points I've "deposited"?

I believe that you will have to deposit the points increment that you wish to trade - if you want either a 67,100 or 44,000 unit, you will have to deposit 67,100 points and if you get a 44,000 exchange, you will have change of 23,100 points in your account. As for Ongoing Search, I think it will look similar to the Shell points OGS Request - there is a slider to select for how many points to tie up in the request and selections for what size units you are willing to accept. In my screenshot, I only want 3 or 4 bedrooms, so those buttons are pressed, whereas studio, 1 bed and 2 bed are not selected.